PHOENIX CABNEWS

NEWS AND FACTS ABOUT CABS AND DRIVING IN THE
PHOENIX
AREA, OR ANYWHERE, FOR THAT MATTER; ALL DRIVERS WITH INPUT ARE INVITED
TO
EMAIL: YOUR COMMENTS AND FACTS WILL BE INCLUDED
WHETHER
YOU AGREE WITH ME OR NOT

Who Really Owns AAA and Yellow?

In 2003, according to reports, Yellow, Checker and Courier, formerly
owned by Arnett, were purchased by AAA Full Transportation, an Arab-owned
taxi company that had previously concentrated mostly on servicing
corporate accounts in plain white taxis. It was somewhat surprising,
although Arnett himself was aging, his son of doubtful competence, and
the company likely in financial trouble due to multiple lawsuits.
A major lawsuit over the workman's compensation issue had finally been
whon on appeal, since in fact drivers are independent contractors, not
employees, but the years of litigation was no doubt draining.

Information available at that time said that Arnett retained his
Dial-a-Ride and contracted medical transportation operations at 129 E.
Pima, which was the back-door address for 156 E. Mojave. The purchased
companies moved to AAA's University Ave. headquarters. Later AAA bought
Neal's Cabs of Mesa and TLC of Glendale.

Recently the actual ownership has been questioned, however. Could AAA
have actually been secretly owned by Arnett all along, and the sale have
been a ruse to avoid large debts owed by his original companies?
Specific information is hard to come by, so if anyone can verify who or
what really owns that operation and fill in the details, I'd like to hear
from you
--captain rat 9/15/2007

DOWN ON SUNRISE

A driver describes his experience with a small Phoenix cab company

I needed to do some extra work, and not being a big fan of the standard thieves of the industry ie: AAA/ Discount, I asked around and heard that Bud at Sunrise was OK . Wrong. After 6 days of working the low end of his favorites line and paying a 65.00 lease for a 35 .00 rate 1.20 and with gas. Not to mention a guy held up a bank from the cab on my first shift. I finally had all I could take and bowed out after about 6 hours into my 7th Shift having net after gas about 12.00 dollars. I had paid all previous leases and went home with about 120.00 for 6 12-hour shifts. So I pretty much figured this was my 12.00 dollars. and dropped the cab clean with gas and notified the dispatcher that there were no hard feelings but this wasn't what I had in mind when I set out to make some extra money. This Bud guy calls me and goes ballistic I tried to explain and he hung up after saying such moronic shit as He knew where I lived and don't bother to hide I wrote him a decent letter and dropped it at his office. This only made him worse. Tell readers that it is bad enough out there so avoid this asshole at all cost. Thanks

Danny Wilson

Thanks for the contribution, Danny! If anyone else has an opinion on Sunrise, or another company you've worked for, feel free to email.

--captain rat

NEW AZ TAXI LAW BEING CHANGED

Just as small taxi companies and owner-ops were preparing for the
worst, which was scheduled to begin July 1, 2004, it seems the AZ
Legislature is ammending the law, possibly softening the blow a bit.
(1) Insurance requirements will stay at $300,000 for vehicles holding
8 passengers or fewer.
(2) A classification called Livery Vehicle has been added,
differing from a taxi in that fares are NOT determined by distance;
thus, it does not require a meter. It will have its own livery type
plate, and removable signs may be used. Fares may be determined by
flat rates, hourly rates, or geographic zones.
(3) Exterior taxi signs will no longer require the address of the
company.
(4) NEW EFFECTIVE DATE: 12/31/2004UPDATE: THE NEW RULES FOR TAXIS STILL BEGAN JULY 1, BUT NEW LIVERY RULES DON'T START UNTIL 12/31.

CINCINATTI CABDRIVER PICKS UP
LION

Mark Kronner, a taxi owner-operator in
Cincinatti for 19 years,
picked up a passenger with an unusual pet. He describes the
incident as follows:I picked up a fare from our office in Cincinnati, Ohio who
had a two year old male lion on a leash. We drove to the destination
with this lion hanging his head out the window like a dog. I
challenge any cabbie to match this. Good luck.So, are there any other drivers out there who can top that?
Any driver with an unusual passenger story, including but not limited
to animals capable of eating them, is invited to share their
tale. My email address can be found at the bottom of the page.
I'm looking forward to hearing from all of you.

ARIZONA! Let's Join the 21st Century!

And then invite everyone over

Arizona politicians really should try to
stop
shooting themselves in the foot. We have a state full of natural
beauty,
great winter weather, excellent resorts, hotels, golf courses, and,
thanks
to the enterprise of Native American tribes, we even have gambling.
yet we
are losing convention and tourism business to Nevada and other
places.

Although the people of Arizona are as
sophisticated
and cosmopolitan as any, we have developed a reputation as regressive,
restrictive,
and prudish; a state to avoid if you want to have fun. It is our
so-called
LEADERS (actually they are about a century behind us) who make us
appear
dull and reactionary.

Still, it is our own fault. Instead of
speaking
up and demanding progress, we remain silent while the
ultraconservatives and
religious fanatics make all the noise.

Evan Meecham, for example, made the entire
state
appear both racist and stupid. Fortunately he was removed from office
before
the impression could become permanant. However, we still have
politicians
who make such bigoted and pointless proposals as a constitutional
ammendment
banning gay marriage. Perhaps if gays were not allowed to marry,
more
of them would become priests instead.

Seriously, the effect of such public
statements
will be to alienate a significant proportion of the population,
causing many
of them to choose other states for vacations or business
conventions.I believe that treating everyone as equal is the right thing
to
do. But regardless of beliefs, it is a fact that it also makes good
business
sense.

One of Arizona's major handicaps is our
set of
archaic liquor laws. Our 1:00 am end to alcohol sales
amazes
and frustrates most visitors from elsewhere. Those here for
conventions
and business meetings are especially disappointed. The night life is
an
important part of a visitor's experience. Vacationers, by
definition,
have time off from work, and many of them want to have a good time.
But
Arizona only offers them half a night to enjoy.

Early bar closing does not make people
drink
less. It only insures that nearly all of them will be leaving the bar
at
about the same time. Many will hurry to finish a last drink before
they
go. Of those who call a taxi, some may have to wait awhile during 'bar
rush,
when a large number want service at the same time. A later last call
would
help reduce the hurried drinking. Bars should be encouraged to stay
open
at least an hour after last call, giving people time to wait for a
ride and/or
leave without a rush.

There is now an initiative being started
to extend
last call. Check out the link below for petition
information.

Finally, it should go without saying
that
banning smoking in bars and restaurants is senseless and
mean-spirited.
Arizona should stand for individual liberty, not paternalistic
prohibition.
Let's make this state one we can be proud of; progressive, free, and
economically
strong!

AZ Legislature Blunders in Taxi Regulation

The following statement is part of the preamble to the recently passed
law
that, among other things, redifines some non-taxicabs as taxicabs, and
requires
them to have meters.

Currently,
taxicabs
are permitted to charge by odometer; however, several factors can
influence
odometer accuracy including tire inflation, tire size, and the
accuracy of
the odometer. If a smaller tire is used or the tire is under-inflated
after
the annual inspection, the taxicab company will be overcharging its
customer.
The DWM recommends that taxicabs, as defined in ARS 41-2092G;
licensing
fees; definitions, be required to have and use a certified taximeter
for
computing taxicab fare.

This statement is so absurd that even
someone
unfamiliar with taxicabs should see the flaw in the
argument.

HOW DO YOU
THINK A
TAXIMETER MEASURES DISTANCE?

It is, of course, connected to the same
cable,
either electrically or mechanically, that turns the odometer and the
speedometer.
It is subject to exactly the same causes of inaccuracy as the
odometer, including
tire size and inflation. Unless it is being suggested that meters use
a global-positioning
system device to measure distance, (this is being developed but is not
yet
in production), then we must still count miles by the turning of the
wheels
on the road.

If a taxi
owner or
driver wants to cheat his customer, having a meter is to his
advantage. The
meter LOOKS more official and authoritative, and is less likely to be
questioned.

Adding the factor of traffic delay time
can
effectively mask a distance inaccuracy. In addition, adjusting the
minimum
speed used to determine traffic delay time can increase the total fare
considerably,
yet this setting is not a required part of the
rate-posting.

Requiring
meters
does nothing to insure the honesty of a taxicab or sedan. It only
increases
the operating cost, which will result in higher fare rates for the
customer.
The margin of profit for a small company or an independant
owner-driver is
already quite slim.

The meter requirement will only help
the
large taxi companies who already use meters, by reducing the
competition
from small companies and independants.

TLC goes 10-7

TLC Transportation,a small
sedan
transportation service located in Glendale, came to an untimely end on
October
7, 2003.

To its drivers and its customers, TLC had
been
more than just job or a ride: it was like a family and a friend you
could
count on.

At the end of the day, on 10-7-2003, that
family
dissolved, sadly, each of us feeling a profound sense of loss.

Although AAA Cab has purchased TLC's phone
numbers
and name, and will use some of TLC's former drivers, it will not be
the same.

Customers of TLC tended to be very loyal.
Dispatchers
and phone operators often knew them by their voices or recognized
their names
immediately. There was no caller-id on the phone--it was
human-ID.

Although TLC had its ups and downs over the
years
and no doubt struggled to make a profit, especially during this
Republican
recession, the reasons given for the close were not financial, but
that two tragic
deaths had occured in the owner's family, back in Ohio. Laura,
the owner, was needed back there, and could no longer run the company
here.

UPDATE:

Now that TLC is no more (the AAA
simulation only uses the name and the phone numbers),
I have heard from individuals who were formerly with the
company, who have provided some
information, which I am piecing together in an attempt to tell
a more complete story.

It seems that some inaccurate tales
may have been spread, and some events
overdramatized, while other more significant details were
undisclosed. Sorting out the complete truth
may be difficult or impossible, but the confusion and conflicts of
information may paradoxically provide a deeper
insight and understanding.

The details I have received so far are far
from complete, and I encourage any and all
who know relevant facts to contribute. News can only be as accurate
as its sources, and the more different
viewpoints contributed, the more likely the story to be
complete and balanced.
Contributions have always been invited.

DECEIT IN THE
DESERT

THREE RUTHLESS
CONSPIRATORS
PLOT TO RUIN THE SMALL TAXI COMPANY THAT EMPLOYED
THEM

The taxi business is not an easy one,. even in the best
of
times. You depend on a
combination
of factors, none of which are predictable. the
independant-contractor
drivers, the many moving parts of the cabs, the capriciousness
of
the customers, the whims of the weather, the flow of traffic,
and
the constantly changing level of demand., each of which may
demonstrate its adherence to Murphy's law.

But when your business partners. who
pretended
to be your friends as well, sneak off into the night to
surreptitiously
sell out to a larger company, stealing your hard-won accounts
and
many of your drivers by spreading vicious lies, even stealing
your
office rolidex., fraudulently having not only your office
phones
turned off., but your homephone as well, then things can
get
pretty tough.

Ruthless tactics in business
are
nothing new. Neither are murder, robbery,and rape. No one is
surprised
at the daily news reports. complete with victim interviews.
statistics.and
damage estimates..
As a whole,. we take these acts for granted, hoping that
the bad actors involved are not in the majority

When such things occur right in front of us, however, we
feel the full impact of the difference between decent human
beings
and the predatory pseudo-humans who act without
conscience.

I dispatched for the EAGLE LIVERY,
the
company to which this happened.

Legacy, begun as a rip-off of Eagle (see DECEIT IN THE
DESERT),
is no longer a part of Yellow's Arnett Transportation. A
former Eagle
driver, Tone (pronounced TONY), had been driving independantly
and
quietly acquiring a fleet of Towncars, which he leased to
drivers.

PERHAPS AN ENTERPRISE THAT IS
CONCEIVED
IN EVIL RETAINS ITS BAD KARMA, DESPITE A NEW OWNER'S GOOD
INTENT.

The evil Don, who is now dead, missed
by
no one who ever worked with him, and the thieving con-man Jed,
started
Legacy by ripping off Eagle Livery.

Tone' Hermiz, who drove a sedan with
Eagle,
and who had been building a fleet of towncars to lease to
drivers,
bought the company from Arnett Transportation, owner of
Yellow, Checker,
and Courier Cabs of Phoenix and Tucson. There were high hopes
of
turning it into a first-class Sedan company, and, in
fact,
much progress was being made.

Three thousand taxis
with
special head lamps marking quality services have taken to the
streets
of Beijing. The taxis belong to five taxi companies including
Capital
Taxi Company and Beijing Taxi Company, which have promised
that their
drivers will not refuse to take passengers, nor overcharge.

THE TOWNCARJACKING

TAXI TERROR, DESTRUCTION, AND ROMANCE
ON
THE STREETS OF PHOENIX

DECEMBER 3, 1999
It was around 3:00 am, a chilly Thursday night in Phoenix.
Business was slow. Suddenly a story began to unfold on the
scanner:
a white Lincoln Towncar with a blue interior and a portable
lighted
taxi tophat on the dash had been taken at gunpoint!
A shot was fired through the windshield, and the driver
and
two female passengers bailed out. The taxijacker took off with
the
towncar.
Cops and the 'copter sped to the scene, near 23 Ave. and
Butler. The driver had walked to a nearby building to make the
ymessenger
call,
since his cellphone was still in the& missing cab.

taxijack update:

august 23, 2000

Today your rodent reporter learned that the driver
whose
Lincoln was towncarjacked
was none other than Driver 96, one well known to me. He
was
a driver for Eagle while I dispatched there for 7 months, and
he
is now a fellow dispatcher for Tony's Legacy Transportation,
as well
as a part-time driver.

He began telling the story as we sat in the
dispatch
office, and I suddenly realized that it was the same story I
reported
months ago.

That gunshot that broke the windshield, I learned
today,
barely missed the side of the driver's head, coming close
enough
to shave a swath of his hair.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A
SEDAN
AND A TAXI IS TECHNICALLY ONLY THAT A TAXI CAN BE FLAGGED
(WILL STOP
FOR SOMEONE WAVING FROM THE CURB). A SEDAN IS SUPPOSED TO BE
EXCLUSIVELY
ORDERED OR RESERVED IN ADVANCE.

THE CITY OF
PHOENIX
STILL RETAINS AN ORDINANCE REQUIRING THAT ACCURATE RATES BE
POSTED
ON THE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THEIR LAW DEFINES A NON-TAXI HIRED
TRANSPORTATION
VEHICLE AS A 'LIMOUSINE'. IT DOES NOT SPECIFY THE STYLE OR
SIZE
CAR IT MUST BE. 'LIMOUSINES' ARE NOT REQUIRED TO POST
RATES
OR DISPLAY ANY KIND OF SIGN.

THIS USUALLY
RESULTS
IN A QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCE AS WELL.WHILE THE TAXI IS USUALLY
PAINTED
AN IDENTIFYING COLOR OR DESIGN, SEDANS RETAIN THEIR FACTORY
PAINT,
MAY BE UNMARKED OR IDENTIFIED WITH MORE SEDATE LOGOS OR SIGNS.
MOST
SEDANS DON'T USE METERS, RELYING ON THE ODOMETER OR
PRECALCULATED
FLAT RATES.

MANY SEDAN
COMPANIES
USE LINCOLN TOWNCARS OR OTHER LUXURY VEHICLES, AND CHARGE
RATES OF
$2.00 A MILE AND UP.

THOUGH PRICED
HIGHER
PER MILE, THERE IS NO TRAFFIC DELAY CHARGE,SO ON MANY TRIPS
THE END
COST WILL BE LITTLE MORE THAN A METERED TAXI WITH A LOWER
RATE.

SUCH SEDANS
APPEAL
TO CUSTOMERS DESIRING MORE PERSONALIZED AND HIGHER QUALITY
SERVICE,
AS WELL AS THE MORE LUXURIOUS CARS.

THIS ALLOWS
THEM
TO KEEP LOWER RATES, WHILE EMPHASIZING COURTEOUS AND FRIENDLY
SERVICE.

THE PHOENIX
AREA
MARKET IS SATURATED WITH LOW AND MEDIUM PRICED TAXICABS. SINCE
DEREGULATION
IT HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY HARDER TO MAKE DECENT MONEY IN A
REGULAR
CAB. LEASE RATES HAVE DOUBLED IN THE LAST 15 YEARS, WHILE FARE
RATES
ROSE ONLY 25% OR LESS.

DRIVERS OF
HIGHER
PRICED SEDANS MAY HAVE FEWER CALLS PER HOUR, BUT THEY AVERAGE
MORE
MONEY PER CALL, AND THE TIPS ARE BETTER. THE DISADVANTAGE WITH
LUXURY
SERVICES IS THE DRESS CODE.

THE TOWNCAR
SEDAN
COMPANIES GET MOST OF THEIR BUSINESS BY OBTAINING CONTRACTS AT
SOME
OF THE MEDIUM TO HIGHER-PRICED HOTELS. IT IS AN ORGANIZED FORM
OF
BRIBING THE BELLHOP. THEY ALSO CONTRACT WITH CORPORATE OFFICES
TO
TRANSPORT THEIR FREQUENT-TRAVELING EXECUTIVES. THE LUXURY CARS
ATTRACT
SOME RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS AS WELL, MOSTLY IN THE HIGHER
INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS.

WONDER WHERE THE YELLOW
WENT?

squeaky wheels
at
the oily canary

YELLOW, CHECKER, AND COURIER
drivers,
all part of Arnett Transportation, the biggest in the Phoenix
area,
are concerned about their dispatching system. some time
ago
the company installed MDT's, presumably to increase
dispatching efficiency.
But Yellow, which once had the quickest average response time
in
the Valley, has gotten slower. Drivers are getting
cancellations
on calls that were not cancelled. Two or more cabs are getting
dispatched to the same call. Business is way down.

Obviously, computerized
dispatching
solves no problems when run by underpaid, undercompetent,
undertrained, and undermotivated dispatchers and phone
operators.
in fact, it only serves to make errors and dishonesty harder
to trace.

ARNETT
TRANSPORTATION,
owner of YELLOW, CHECKER, AND COURIER cab companies, may be in
LEGAL TROUBLE for systematically overcharging its voucher
account clients. It may be in more trouble for attempting to
keep
checks that were
mistakenly sent to its address, but were not meant for
Arnett.

--captainrat

AAA
BUYS
OUT YELLOW

November, 2002

Overnight, the balance of power in
Phoenix
taxicabs has changed drastically.

Until now, it was The Big
Three:

Arnett Transportation: Yellow
Cab
and Checker ($1.50/mile), Courier $1.60/mile and Courier VIP
towncars
($2.00/mile) All use MDT's for
dispatching.
Arnett's fleet of white cars uses hourly-paid drivers and runs
most
of the voucher calls. The regular cab drivers will end up with
some
of the twinkie vouchers, though. Arnett also owns Yellow of
Tucson.

Discount ($1.40/mile), which
probably has the highest call volume, if not the largest
fleet,
has absorbed several other budget-oriented companies including
Metro,
Fairway, and recently Ace. They use a grid of numbered zones
to log
via radio and send out the calls by alphanumeric pager. Their
system
is efficient, but not very customer-friendly. Calls over 40
minutes old without a callback are automatically discarded
by
the computer system.
AAA ($1.30) does a major portion of
its business in vouchers. The company pays for exclusive
right to
flags at the Greyhound, and its drivers will try to intimidate
other
companies' drivers who have calls there.

NOW IT'S THE BIG TWO!

AAA was easy to
underestimate
as a company. Though numerous, their cabs are plain, white,
and rather
ugly. Apparantly, however, it has amassed enough of a fortune
for
its Arab owner to enable him to pay a reported $6 million for
Arnett's
entire operation.

Greater Phoenix also has a long
list
of smaller companies.

TLC, concentrationg on the west
side
of the valley, has switched to late-model compacts and
eliminated
meters. They use even-dollar flat rates based on $1.20/mile,
with
a $5.00 minimum. They emphasize friendly and individualized
customer
service, and are relatively driver-friendly as well. Dispatch
is
by logging zones, with flexible routing when busy. Addresses
are sent by alphanumeric pager most of the time.

Several Spanish-speaking cab companies have
sprouted
over the last few years. They seem to be
quite
popular among those who prefer that language.
Years ago, Arnett began a sub-company called Fiesta,
painted
bright orange, aimed at that market. It still advertises in
the Yellow
Pages, but it consists, at last count, of one cab.

On the high end of the scale, there are several sedan
companies, using Lincoln Towncars and an occasional Caddy.
One company uses Mercedes. Transtyle and Altrans are
the
largest, but there are many smaller companies such as
Legacy, Star Night, Desert Knight,
Execucar (owned by Supershuttle) Rates are generally $2.00 or
$2.50/mile.
Although sedan companies do have regular residential
customers,
most depend on having exclusive contracts with hotels (an
organized
form of bellhop-bribery) for the bulk of their
business.

Fear of flying since 9/11 has hurt
the hotels and towncar-taxi business badly. Prior to that,
Lincoln
fleets and their drivers did quite well during the winter
travel
seasons.Nearly all cab driving in
Phoenix
is on an independant-contractor basis. This means that a
driver is
not an employee. The cab is leased for around $60 to $80 for a
12-hour
or $100 to $120 for a 24. You replace the gas you use. The
rest is
yours. If any. With practice, you usually come out
ahead.

Independant-minded entrepenuers can
join
the countless one-car owner-operators who prowl the streets
with
a cellphone. Anyone with the right toys can play, though not
all
will win.

As an independant contracting cab
driver,
you have little or no real protectionfrom an unscrupulous cab
company,
unless you can afford a good lawyer and have plenty of time.

A good example is the driver deposit.
The
rationale for the deposit,which is usually collected as an
extra
$5 per shift, is that it will cover the deductible in case of
an
at-fault accident, the unpaid lease if you quit without paying
at
the end of your shift, or the cost of a missing radio or
meter.

Barring such reasons for
forfeiture,
you are told that you get the deposit back whenyou leave.

That doesn't sound so bad; if
you're
careful, you should have $500 to $1500 when you change
companies
or occupation. In many cases, however,you'll never get it.

The problem is that the company
keeps
the records, and the company is always 'right'.
They have many tricks up their corporate sleeves. For
example:

(1) If you and another driver
share
a 24-hour cab, and he has an at-fault accident, and there is
not
enough in his deposit to cover the deductible, they'll take
yours,
too.

(2) If your cab is damaged by
an
uninsured or underinsured driver, or by a hit and run driver,
you
lose.

(3) If an accident results in
an
estimate of $1000, but the company, with its ample
supply of spare parts, fixes it for $100, you still lose
$1000

(4) If an accident is not your
fault,
but the company and/or its insurance companychooses not to
pursue
the claim, you lose.

These are but a few examples,
which
don't include simple 'accounting errors'. If you give a
company control
of your money, don't be surprised if they keep it.

Perhaps a better way would be for
the
driver to obtain a 'performance' bond for a given amount when
starting
to drive. This is like an insurance policy for the set amount
of
the cab company's deposit. Of course there is a premium to
pay, but
that would be far less than $5.00 per shift, and to collect
from
the bonding company, the cab company would have to justify
its claim. Since the driver would be fully covered from day
one,
the company shouldn't object. The deposit system enables
cab
companies to obtain interest-free loans from each driver.
Even if they are paid back when the driver leaves, the
company
had free use of the capital.
Most companies won't voluntarily give that up. To change
it we'll need either a law or a strong drivers'
organization.

AIRPORT STRIKE

YELLOW AND COURIER, were
two of the three companies previously allowed to pick up at
the airport
by contract with the greedy Sky Harbor ground transportation
officials. In the middle of the always-slow summer season,
Arnett
raised the drivers' lease. In response, Yellow and Courier
drivers
went as a group to Sky Harbor, parked and refused
to pick up anyone. RIGHT ON, DRIVERS! It may not have
helped,
but was a step toward getting organizedand getting
heard.

Of course, some attention
should
be focused on Sky
Harbor as well. While everywhere else
taxis are unregulated except for state meter inspections,
airport officials presume to dictate who can pick up there,
charging
over $800 per year per cab for permits, plus $1 per trip
out,and
high fines ($100 or so) for any driver caught picking up
without
a current sticker. Drivers have even been ticketed for
looking
like they were thinking about picking up
there.Customers should have the right to be
picked up by whatever company they choose
wherever they are, and no
one,
especially
a public municipal facility, should restrain the right of a
business
to serve its customers.

YELLOW AND COURIER OFF AIRPORT

DISCOUNT, with new fleet of specially
marked
cars, is now on.

ALLSTATE, a cab company of unknown
origin,
emerged as the new third company allowed on the airport, along
with
Discount and AAA. There were rumors that Arnett created the
company
in Phoenix by importing it from Tuscon, where he also owns the
local
Yellow Cab company. There is no evidence of that, however.
Allstate is
part of a copmany called Arizona Pony Express, which seems to be a
courier service.
Though Allstate's airport fleet may do well, its street fleet
inexplicably has a
meter rate of $1.75 a mile, 25 cents more than the Big Two's rates.
Not surprisingly, it has virtually no business through phone calls,
so drivers must rely on
flags and personals.

Anyone with new or corrected info about Phoenix area cabs
is asked to contribute.

letters to the
editor?

COMMENTS, QUESTIONS,
AND
CONTRIBUTION ARE INVITED.
THIS PAGE OF CAB NEWS, THOUGH BEGUN TO REPORT THE STORY
ABOVE,
IS OPEN TO ANYONE WITH FACTS AND OPINIONS RELEVANT TO
DRIVERS
AND TAXI CUSTOMERS IN GREATER PHOENIX.